1. Field
This invention pertains to storage and delivery systems for skis. It provides a compact magazine system for retrieving various sizes and styles of skis from storage.
2. State of the Art
Various fixed bracket ski storage systems are known, such as those described in Swiss Pat. No. 411268 (Vogel) and German Pat. No. 2600121 (Zisterer). These fixed bracket systems made no provision for moving skis stored at the rear of an area toward the front of that area as skis are removed. As a consequence, relatively few pair of the stored skis can be retrieved from a location at the front of the storage area. Vogel attempts to solve this problem through the use of hinged fixed bracket mounts which swing open to expose skis stored toward the rear. U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,867 (Putt) relies upon fixed brackets attached to slideable mounts to expose skis stored toward the rear. Both Vogel and Putt require extensive space to accommodate opening of the brackets for unloading.
Other storage systems have attempted to expose articles stored toward the rear. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,873 suggests slideable stackers, while U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,612,288 and 3,045,831 disclose hinged display racks. None of these systems are suitable for the storage and dispensing of elongated heavy objects such as skis.
There remains a need for a storage system capable of storing skis of various sizes and styles in a relatively small space but from which skis may be retrieved from a small access region.